COLLEGES: Milton's Gemma made a sudden impact for national champion Bentley

Monday

Mar 31, 2014 at 8:48 PMMar 31, 2014 at 8:53 PM

Freshman Jen Gemma was a major contributor off coach Barbara Stevens' bench, averaging 10.1 points and 6.2 rebounds for the Falcons.

Glen Farley The Enterprise @GFarley_ent

Her freshman year as a reserve with the Bentley University’s women’s basketball team wasn’t bad for starters.

Appearing in 33 of 35 games for a senior-laden team, Milton’s Jen Gemma averaged 18.7 minutes, 10.1 points and 6.2 rebounds for the NCAA Division 2 national champion.

How solid were those numbers?

Gemma’s scoring average was tops among players in the Northeast-10 who started fewer than 10 games, her 40-minute projections computing to 21.6 points and 13.3 rebounds.

“Coming in, I didn’t really know what to expect,” said Gemma. “I didn’t really know if I was going to get a chance to play, but I took it one practice at a time, tried to do my best and keep up with it as best I could. Game time, I just tried to go in and do whatever I could to help the team. It was such a great opportunity, I feel very lucky to have had the experience I had.”

It was a season like no other in a program that’s been a perennial power under head coach Barbara Stevens, the Falcons capping off an unbeaten (35-0) campaign by staging a late comeback to defeat West Texas A&M, 73-65, in last Friday night’s Division 2 national championship game in Erie, Pa.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Gemma. “It’s probably one of the best experiences of my life. Thinking back on it or watching our highlight video, I get chills. It doesn’t seem real.”

Fresh out of Fontbonne Academy, where she eclipsed 1,200 points and 1,000 rebounds over the course of a four-year varsity career, the 6-foot forward’s impact at Bentley was immediate.

Gemma barely missed a double-double (11 rebounds, nine points) in her second game, a 75-58 win over Caldwell College, and registered her first of three in her seventh game, pulling down 12 rebounds and tossing in 10 points in a 71-42 romp over Southern New Hampshire.

Come season’s end, Gemma had been selected rookie of the week in the NE-10 on four occasions and the conference’s player of the week once following a 20-point, 12-rebound performance in a 71-59 victory at LIU Post on Dec. 21.

“In general, just going from high school to college the game’s just so much different,” said Gemma. “It’s so much faster. Everyone’s so much stronger.

“There was so much learning and so many different aspects of the game that I had to learn, but just being with the upperclassmen and practicing with some of the best players in the country helped so much with the adjustment because they have so much experience and are so talented. Day after day, practicing with them made me feel just so much more comfortable in the game.”

While the all-senior cast of Lauren Battista, Christiana Bakolas, Jacqui Brugliera, Caleigh Crowell and Courtney Finn fueled the Falcons’ comeback from a nine-point deficit with 5:37 to play in the national championship game, Gemma’s contributions earlier (seven rebounds, six points) helped keep them within striking distance.

“We have so much faith in our seniors and each other,” Gemma said, recalling the comeback. “We called a timeout, put our press on, and it was, like, we got this. We were staying positive, which I think is so admirable because that situation took a lot of poise. When they went out there and there was steal after steal, it was unbelievable to watch.”

The postgame celebration evoked a stream of emotions.

“People were crying. People were laughing,” said Gemma. “We were so excited. It was just an amazing feeling.”

With seven seniors and graduate students on the roster, Gemma will be among the returnees Stevens will count heavily upon at Bentley in the years to come.

“We’ve thought about it a little bit,” Gemma admitted. “We know that we’re losing a lot of kids that had so much experience, played so much of a role on our team, but I think the rest of us are ready to step up. We have really big shoes to fill, but we’re going to try to keep it going, keep the tradition alive and work really hard and do our best next year.

“We want to just keep it going, keep the tradition alive that these seven seniors had. They’ve done such a great job representing Bentley and Bentley basketball. That’s what the rest of us really want to continue.”

In that regard, Gemma vows to work during the upcoming months to improve her game before she returns to suit up for her sophomore season.

“Both offensively and defensively, I think I have areas where I can improve,” she said. “I’m really just going to try to break that down during the summer and get a lot better.”

For now, though, there is time to bask in the glory of a season that was the best in the history of an illustrious program.

“Bentley basketball has such a great tradition,” said Gemma. “Since we’ve come in here, you can just tell that everyone expects so much from each other. I’m just grateful to be part of this team and have had this experience.”

Glen Farley may be reached at gfarley@enterprisenews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @GFarley_ent.

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